“Violent fighting” in the south and north of the country. Ukraine’s armed forces “are fighting fiercely” once morest Russian forces for control of the towns of Mykolayev in the south and Cherniguiv in the north, the Ukrainian General Staff said in a statement on Facebook this Sunday morning. . A Ukrainian military operation was also underway in the Donetsk region in the east.
Mariupol in trouble. The situation is “very difficult” in Mariupol, subject to “a humanitarian blockade” and intense bombing, said the mayor of Mariupol, this strategic port in the south-east of the country besieged by Russian forces. According to him, the bombardments of the last few days have caused “thousands of wounded” and the Russian forces are preventing the arrival of food and medicine. The evacuation of civilians has been postponed due to multiple Russian ceasefire violations, according to Mariupol City Hall.
Threats from Vladimir Putin. The Russian president stressed on Saturday that Russia would consider co-belligerent any country trying to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, a claim by Kiev that NATO has rejected, and said the sanctions imposed to his country amounted to “a declaration of war”.